Heart to Heart: True Beauty

Did you know that only 2 percent of women would describe themselves as beautiful? Are you in that small sampling? Society has given us a very narrow definition of beauty.

What exactly is beauty? The Dove Campaign asked women and found that:

• Seventy-seven percent strongly agree that beauty can be achieved through attitude, spirit, and other attributes that have nothing to do with physical appearance.
• Eighty-nine percent strongly agree that a woman can be beautiful at any age.
• Eighty-five percent state that every woman has something about her that is beautiful.

 Interestingly, the study found that two-thirds of women strongly agree that physical attractiveness is about how one looks, whereas beauty includes much more of who a person is. Women rate happiness, confidence, dignity, and humor as powerful components of beauty, along with the more traditional attributes of physical appearance, body weight and shape, and even a sense of style.

We must remind ourselves that beauty is not defined by a number on the scale, an hourglass shape, washboard abs, slender thighs, a big chest, a pair of designer low-rise jeans, a cleavage-baring top, a new sassy haircut, a clear complexion, or a surgical procedure. While these things may grab some attention from men, it doesn't impress God in the least. It is dangerous and unhealthy to define our value based on our physical attractiveness to men or the world. Physical beauty will fade over time, true beauty (virtue) is timeless.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice or dress nice but so many of us have been brainwashed by society's definition of beauty. Watch this behind-the-lies video for an eye-opening view of the world's perception of beauty.



This kind of false advertising, and quite frankly false beauty, portrays unachievable standards for women. Too often girls go to extreme measures to be "perfect" and sometimes those extreme measures end in suicide or death from unhealthy habits like drugs and eating disorders all because they feel ugly compared to these so-called, "perfect" girls. This unrealistic view of beauty can also lead to women entering into bad relationships simply for validation.

The battlefield is within our minds but peace can be achieved within our hearts. We have taken these images of magazine model women as reality but we must remind ourselves that these images are NOT real. We need to stop "chasing perfect" because it's not a place any of us can really get to and we must work to not get caught up in the lies and distortion that will only lead to immense dissatisfaction in our lives.

You are beautiful and loved exactly as you are. Don't let another human being be in charge of your security. Say goodbye to insecurity and begin to embrace YOU because after all, there is only one you - no one else in this world can ever be you so enjoy that uniqueness because you are the only one who can.

Start focusing on being virtuous and helping others to discover their true beauty of virtue and I guarantee you will feel more beautiful than you ever have in your life!